Lowell Thomas Awardee Dr. Mary A. Voytek took charge of NASA’s Astrobiology Program in 2008, as Senior Scientist for Astrobiology.

She came to NASA from the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA, where she headed the USGS Microbiology and Molecular Ecology Laboratory.

Her studies into the environmental controls on microbial transformations of nutrients, xenobiotics, and metals in freshwater and marine systems are foundational. She has worked in many extreme environments including the arctic, Antarctic, hypersaline lakes, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and terrestrial deep-subsurface sites.

From deep sea thermal vents, to Yellowstone, all the way to cancer cells — tracing microbial worlds to cellular worlds is the story of Lowell Thomas Awardee Dr. Jay Short.

By tracing similarities at vents in extreme micro-environments, to the unique micro cellular environment created by cancer cells, Short’s discoveries in the field have pushed innovation in cancer treatment in the lab.

Lowell Thomas Awardee Dr. William Bowerman is a world-renowned expert on environmental change, studying its impacts through bald eagle population.

His innovations in using the weight, distribution, and impact of this keystone species to render key insights into wider environmental challenges are in keeping with the highest traditions of field science and exploration.

EC50 Awardee Professor Christian Rutz has broad interests in animal behavior, comparative cognition, human evolution, nature conservation, and policy making. A keen fieldworker and explorer, his research is driven by a deep curiosity about, and desire to protect, the natural world. Rutz is well-known for his long-term studies of two remarkable tool-using bird species – the famous New Caledonian crow and the critically-endangered Hawaiian crow – as well as his highly innovative work using cutting-edge animal-tracking technologies (‘bio-logging’). Having pioneered miniature video-cameras and proximity-loggers in the context of his crow research, he now focuses on building collaborative communities that collect and pool bio-logging data across species. 

Catharina Frostad is not only an adept sailor and ocean-tech entrepreneur but also a devoted citizen scientist. With significant experience in Arctic expeditions and competitive sailing, she’s deeply passionate about leveraging technology for sustainability. In 2018, Catharina founded Clean Sea Solutions, an initiative that harnesses robots and autonomous systems to combat marine litter, especially in strategic harbor and waterfront locales, preventing waste from contaminating our vast oceans. Recognizing the power of narratives in amplifying scientific messages, she also established Gate to the Arctic, which spotlights anthropogenic challenges in the Arctic. This platform bridges scientific discourse with global youth through compelling stories. As Salesforce’s Sustainability Ambassador, Catharina champions the convergence of software solutions and employee-driven initiatives for a greener tomorrow. She also holds a pivotal role on the board of The Norwegian Chapter.

Sturla Ellingvåg is a historian, writer, scientist and lecturer. Since 2005 he has been leading many scientific expeditions to places such as Easter Island, the Atlas mountains, Crimea and Spain. His current research projects are in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Italy, France, UK and Scandinavia. He is a former Chapter Chair of Norway Chapter, a TED talk lecturer and has been involved in several TV shows and documentaries, such as searching for Viking traces in America with actor Peter Stormare. 

Dr. Pål Brekke is a solar physicist, expert on the northern lights and an internationally recognized lecturer. Currently he works as Lead, Space Science at the Norwegian Space Agency and also teaches at the University Center at Svalbard.  Previously he worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as Deputy Project Scientist for the  legendary sun-observing satellite SOHO satellite. He is an author of several international popular science books about the Sun and the Northern Lights translated into seven languages. He has also produced the award-winning documentary «The Northern Lights – a Magic Experience”.